HR issues
May 28, 2013 Marcia Scheffler Employee Relations, Human Resources,
Rob Ford fired his Chief of Staff, Mark Towhey and Steven Harper accepted the “resignation” of his Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright, the week of May 23, 2013 which has surely been the one of the worst weeks for Chiefs of Staff in Canada for a while.
CEO of an organization, Chief of Staff, communication, communication of ideas, communication to employees, communications strategy, contingency planning, crisis communications, Crisis containment, dissemination information, HR issues, HR liability, human capital management, Human Resources Director, Internal communications, internal marketing, Job descriptions, leadership, managing and monitoring the flow of information, resignation, right in the middle of the firestorm, Silence raises suspicions, social media, why fire your Chief of Staff, workplace related crisis
May 7, 2013 Amery Boyer Employee Relations, Human Resources, Union Relations,
On Sunday, April 28, 2013, there was a demonstration outside the Just Us Coffee’s office in Grand Pré to support two former employees of an outlet in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who claim that the fair trade company fired them for attempting to organize their co-workers.
attempting to organize employees, Balancing fair trade, Business, Canadian Union of Public Employees, employment relationship, grievance, HR issues, Just Us Coffee Co-op, Labour Law, Labour Relations Board, Mediation, Service Employees International Union, termination, unionization, worker rights, workers wanted to form a union
April 22, 2013 Occasional Contributors Corporate Immigration, Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring,
In the wake of the RBC’s temporary foreign worker debacle, and Prime Minister Harper’s temporary foreign worker program reform, what are the implications of outsourcing Canadian jobs in favour of temporary foreign workers? The implications for Canadian workers and recruitment are telling.
employment law, Federal Skilled Worker Program, Foreign workers, hiring temporary foreign workers, HR issues, labour shortages, laid off employees, outsourcing, outsourcing Canadian jobs, outsourcing contract, RBC, recruitment, temporary foreign worker, Temporary Foreign Worker Program, termination, terminations
April 22, 2013 Clear Path Employer Services Health and Safety, Human Resources,
Think workplace safety concerns only impact employees in traditional industries? Think again. Even well-known Hollywood stars can be impacted by a lack of due diligence in their workplaces. Here are some of the celebrities who have been involved in a serious workplace accident.
anna aceto-guerin, celebrities, Clear Path, clear path employer services, consulting, employee injuries, employment law, Film industry, health and safety policy, health and safety training, Hollywood, hollywood health and safety horrors, hollywood horrors, hollywood safety, HR issues, injuries, movies, occupational health and safety, occupational health and safety act, OHSA, Return to work, workplace accidents, workplace health and safety, Workplace injuries, wsib
March 5, 2013 Marcia Scheffler Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, HRMS, Human Resources, Human Rights, Union Relations,
The recently publicized news regarding the ban of telecommuting at Yahoo has ensued in a debate about the benefits of flexible work from home versus the requirement to come into work. However the first thought to cross my mind was that this flexible work arrangement only applies to a very small and privileged sector of employees. For example, working in healthcare, I am very aware of the fact that this debate doesn’t apply to nurses or personal support workers.
canadian employment law, childcare obligations, compressed or shorter workweek, discrimination, duty to accommodate, employment law, family status, flexible scheduling, flexible work, flexible work arrangements, flexible work hours, healthcare, healthcare human resources, HR issues, human rights code, job sharing, part-time work experience, policies and procedures, pros and cons of working from home, shifts, telecommute, telecommuting, work-life balance, working from home, workplace flexibility
February 27, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits,
The news trending in the last couple of days is that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer announced, in an internal memo, that the company will no longer allow telecommuting. As a result, Yahoo employees with work-from-home arrangements will be required to work out from a company office. The memo was leaked by a very irked employee and sparked debate on the pros and cons of working from home.
9-to-5 schedule, ban on telecommuting, best place to work, communication and collaboration, desire to balance their work and their family life, employee productivity, employment contract, employment law, Employment/Labour Standards legislation, exact amount of hours actually worked by employee, flexible work arrangement, Home office, hours of work, HR issues, HR Law, HR professionals, Human Resources Professionals Association, management, operating hours, overtime, productivity, pros and cons of working from home, remote working, Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home, Team work, telecommuting, telework, telework agreement, Work at home, work from home, work from home arrangements, workers will slack off and the work won’t get done, working remotely, workplace culture, Yahoo
January 2, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Integrated Accessibility Regulation, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Standard for Customer Service, Standard for the Built Environment, Wages and Compensation,
We are repeating this December 21 blog post to ensure employers, human resources professionals, payroll specialists, legal advisors, managers and supervisors among others start 2013 on the right foot.
accessibility, AODA, AODA obligations, Canada labour Code, canada pension plan, Canada Revenue Agency Act, canadian employment law, Employment Insurance, employment law, Federally regulated workplaces, group sickness or accident insurance plans, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act, Hazardous Materials Information, HR, HR issues, Jobs, Labour Law, OAS pension, pooled registered pension plans, Registered Disability Savings Plans, retirement, tax treatment for contributions
November 7, 2012 Clear Path Employer Services Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Privacy and Security,
The story about the Ontario man fired from a retail store due to insensitive online posts about the death of Amanda Todd, is not the first time we’ve seen a story like this.
available 24/7, conduct and behaviour, eight hours a day, Employee email and computer use, employee handbook, Employee policy manual, employees using social media, facebook, hours of work, HR issues, misconduct, outside of business hours, policies and procedures, policy manual, Smarthphones, social media, social media policy, terminations
November 2, 2012 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources,
With the holiday season fast approaching, employers are consistently reminded of the additional risks and liabilities which may result from an employer-sponsored holiday event. Nevertheless, holiday parties and events are often considered to be an essential “benefit” expected by employees.
Alcohol in the workplace, company sponsored event, conduct and behaviour, employer serves alcohol at an employer social event, employer social functions, employer-sponsored events, employer-sponsored social event, employment law, harassment, holiday parties and events, HR issues, Human Resources PolicyPro, Policy and procedure, policy manual, Responsibilities of employers during a company hosted party, risk of liability, risks and liabilities, The do's and don'ts of company-sponsored events, workplace harassment, Workplace holiday parties, workplace policies
September 27, 2012 Amery Boyer Employee Relations, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Union Relations,
On July 9, 2012, the Nova Scotia Labour Board filed an interim order certifying Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, Local 972, the combination of three previously separate bargaining units, namely the Mill Division, Clerical Division and the Woodlands Division, as the bargaining unit for employees of the NewPage pulp and paper plant in Port Hawkesbury NS.
bargaining units, collective agreement, collective agreements, Collective Bargaining, employment, employment contract, HR issues, Jobs, Labour Law, Nova Scotia Labour Board, productivity, union, union certification, Union negociations, unionized workplaces, Unions
August 27, 2012 Amery Boyer Employee Relations, HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation,
Job descriptions have many uses, the most obvious being to describe key responsibilities and serve as a basis for salary or pay. However, a job description has the potential to deliver far more than this…
critical accountabilities, employment contract, HR issues, Human Resource Management, implementation tools, job description, Job descriptions, key success factors, knowledge, performance management, policy, productivity, skills and abilities, solid business plan, standards of performance
July 26, 2012 Amery Boyer Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring,
According to Susan J. Herman, author of Hiring Right, A Practical Guide, the interview is the most frequently used selection tool and the least valid and reliable. Validity is the degree to which a selection tool like testing or interviewing measures what it is supposed to measure. The closer a statistic is to 1, the more valid it is. Yet interviews have an average validity of 0.14 while ability testing has an average validity of 0.53.
Ability testing, Applicant, bias, extracurricular leadership, Halo effect, hiring decision, HR issues, interview, interviewee, interviewer, interviewer bias, interviewing measures, job applicant, organizational behaviour, poor performance, qualifications, rater bias, selection tool, Stereotyping
April 12, 2012 Ian J Cook HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development
For many in the human resources function, every day is a series of reactions and responses to events. The experience of work is the constant juggle of urgent demands to hire people, sort out employment issues, deal with grievances or conflicts, resolve pay demands or other requests. All of these activities are important and urgent and place an immediate call on our attention and action. This experience creates a habit, where new information is reviewed with a bias to action or crisis. If there is nothing urgent or important here then the information can be ignored—there is nothing to do…
Absenteeism, benchmarking report, Data, HR data, HR function, HR issues, HR measurement, HR metrics, HR Metrics Service, productivity, resignation rates, trends, vacancies
March 20, 2012 Adam Gorley Announcements, Human Resources, Payroll
We are happy to welcome Marcia Scheffler to our roster of regular bloggers at First Reference Talks.
best practices, business strategy, change management, corporate social responsibility, CSR, HR issues, Marcia Scheffler, organizational development
September 27, 2011 Andrew Lawson Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights
“I am at a party on my day off and a coworker hurls racial insults at me or makes sexual suggestive comments to me.” Am I protected by my employer’s harassment and discrimination policy? Likewise, if I am the one doing the hurling or suggestive commenting, am I subject to discipline under my employer’s policies?
Bill 168, canadian employment law, discrimination, Dismissal, employee discipline, employment law, harassment, HR issues, off-duty acts, off-duty conduct, off-duty hours, policies and procedures, policy manual, prevention workshops, terminations, workplace code of conduct, workplace harassment, wrongful dismissal